


By a Thread

by Scarletnumber



Category: One Piece
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Self-Insert, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:47:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27339655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarletnumber/pseuds/Scarletnumber
Summary: In a modern AU where the recirculation of Devil Fruits gradually stopped after the fall of the Age of Pirates. However, centuries later Yuina finds another person who has the same curse as her as she learns the modern world she lives in now, one where is supposed to be free of powers and devil fruits,  is not what it seems.
Relationships: Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Original Character(s), Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ...guess who has another incredibly long and painful writer's block :D

The loud and obnoxious tapping of a keyboard rings out in a nearly empty office. Although such a small office, the amount of volume it was capable of holding and echoing continues to impress her. Almost instinctively, Yuina's jaw clenched as she reached for her cup of coffee now cold and completely stale, the top of the drink composing a lighter layer, telling of exactly how many hours it has been since it was freshly brewed. She mentally cursed as she let the cold liquid touch and slip past her lips.

After all this time, she hated regular milk with her coffee. Time has allowed her to build an abnormal disgust for cow milk.

As she replaced her cold cup aside, she glanced down at her small wristwatch. An hour to go. Sighing, she picked up her pace and continuously typed away.

“Hey.”

Her fingers, in a natural response to the voice whenever mischevious, pressed and punched her keyboard even louder, hoping the pretentiousness of these old mechanical keycaps can signal to the owner of the voice that, no, she did not want to talk. But it fails.

“Hey, hey,” the sweet, cheery voice sounds again from the cubicle next to her.

“Noiko,” the worn out, hard working woman drawls out, her keyboard still furiously beaten by experienced hands, eyes behind narrow glasses, unwavering at the large computer screen. Well, at least time has immensely improved technology and convenience. “Not now.”

“C’mon,” the young intern next to her named Noiko complained. “We are basically off the clock.”

“That’s one more hour of paid interning you are still doing.”

A sigh erupts. Click-clacking of the keyboard still ensues, like a steady and never-ending warning that, hey – this woman still has a lot of work to do. But once more, it fails. Intern Noiko calls for her again.

“Okay but Yuina,” Noiko treads carefully but urgently. “Just answer me one question.”

A sigh erupts once more, but more exasperated, and this time from Yuina. The typing finally stops with one last aggressively loud tap of the spacebar. Leaning back on her chair, Yuina tilts her head to the young girl’s direction, but her eyes are still scanning the document she was working on.

“…Please tell me you’re going to say yes to that date-“

“Noiko…can we _please_ -“

“Come on,” Noiko’s voice deepens until it cracks, in a disgraceful disbelief that Yuina will fathom ever saying no. “He’s so hot-“

“And I am so busy,” Yuina mutters. Rolling her head gently, she straightens up her posture and continues typing. “If you’re so busy thinking about my own private life, perhaps you should fix that report you had given in.”

Another sigh. Ignoring the dramatics, Yuina glanced down at her wristwatch again.

Every day is the same.

Everything was such a routine that, without effort, Yuina knew what was going to happen. She finishes up her work, sends her last email, closes office. She chats and indulges Noiko’s conversation until she is brought home before Yuina drives herself home. Yuina then will go home, unwind in her silence, in her own small coven of a high story loft – a lot better than the previous homes she can remember. Finally, she will pick up her long-neglected phone, responding to messages with empty and half-filled enthusiasm. She will finally respond to the new guy that was recently transferred to from another town. The ‘freshman’, as the office team coined, for this middle-aged man was so social and energetic, charming, and cocky. But Yuina has met too many of these sorts of men, and unfortunately, their game was too new and easy for her liking. So, she will tell the man another time, fully knowing how general that is. She’ll soak her exhaustion away in her bath, soak and lay very still, until her numbing body warns her to get up and get to bed. The next morning will come, marking time once more. She will get out of bed, get ready, get to work, and once more, the day resets.

Yuina took a deep breath as she looked back up at her report. A picture of a young girl was pasted at the top corner of the first page. As she scrolled and reviewed, she looked over the entire case. Young girl under the name of Jane Doe because she was thought to have been dead, age of sixteen, origin of town, ethnicity, or nationality was unknown. But she was kidnapped, captured, possibly tortured – but details were not disclosed, as Yuina did not have access to the medical reports. Fortunately, it was not needed for now. Yuina was wrapping up this case, and her report was just a briefing of what had happened before she had saved the little girl.

She scrolled down, all the way down to a specific section. Jane Doe’s category was undetermined, but Yuina already knew. She had witnessed it on the scene herself. Doe’s Effect was in a Category Four. Low level. Her Effect, or ability, was just minor and slight telepathy. It was what got her to survive as far as she did anyway. Was probably what gave the young girl’s spirit to survive and hold out for that long. This was an easy case and will be safely wrapped up without government interference. There was no mention of a speculation of a possible Devil Fruit, or else the case would have easily been marked into a Category One before it disappeared. Especially when a Devil Fruit was a rare occurrence in this age.

Yuina stared at the transparent crest of her agency that marked on every official report page. She felt herself zoning out as she continuously stared at it. A silhouette of a bird perched on a symbol of a cross with a crescent shape, the bird’s long tail enveloped it from behind, like swirling fire. She knew and recognized the symbol the bird was perched on. She continued staring at the crest. An overwhelming mixture of anxiety and excitement washed over her. So many inferences and doubts. She _knows_ that symbol. Everyone in this world had feared it at one point. It was a bird perched on the symbol of Whitebeard. The history of pirates may have been so lost in time that it has turned into mere tales and legends in this day and age, but not for her.

It’s been how long since the Era of the Pirates have ended. Centuries to the point where any survivors of her time had been long gone, fading from her life bit by bit as time went on. This new world will never know of powers once inhibited by different people and species. This modern world did not need it anymore, as Yuina had watched the world settle and replace its greed for excitement and adventure with technology. Everything was at the tip of your fingertips now; you did not need to go anywhere anymore. It was beautiful and horrifying to Yuina. But she came to the conclusion that it was for the better. Too much time may have passed and numbed her memory, but she can never forget how many young people were stripped of their childhood from the amount of violence that ensued during the Era of the Pirates. Even herself.

“…Yuina!”

Yuina whipped her head to Noiko, completely snapped out of her own trance. “Huh?”

Her young intern stared at her in such an adorable concern that Yuina could not even hide her own smile.

“Yuina, you okay? Please don’t overwork yourself.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Yuina looked back at the document, scrolling carelessly. “Just finishing up.”

“You can’t overexert yourself Yuina,” the young girl pouted. “Without you here, I’m gone!”

Yuina laughed. “I’ve been here only a year, you’ll be fine if I suddenly just stop coming.”

A bit of guilt and sorrow washed over her as she heard her own words spill out for god knows how many times. She watched as Noiko shuffled up her paperwork and tidied up her desk.

“I was told that no one here besides you have gotten their own intern within a year of starting. So don’t try to brush it off like it’s not a big deal!”

Yuina rolled her eyes.

“C’mon,” Noiko said cheerily as she got up and stretched. “Today wasn’t a good day, so let’s end it with a goodnight by going home!”

Normally, any agent who did not get dispatched would call it a good day. All paperwork, it was basically a partial day off being off field. But for Noiko, as she had said during her first ‘day off’, it wasn’t for her.

_“No it’s not!” Noiko said flustered, eyes bewildered at one of their co workers who had lingered on her cubicle. She was young, and completely unaware that the poor person was just trying to hit on her and spark conversation. “It’s a terrible day! There are people out there that needs help. It’s not enough.”_

Yuina smiled at Noiko’s poor attempt to hide her aggravation. Perhaps Yuina could’ve paid attention and entertained her, just to keep her distracted. She turned back to her computer and stared at the young girl’s picture that was taken. Her face was filthy, her eyes distant. Yuina recalled how her eyes at the scene bored into her, as if easily seeing within Yuina her well-kept secrets. Her jaw clenched again as the same, overwhelming feeling of anxiety came back. This time with dread.

Something big was coming. The tides are shifting in this modern time.

She closed the saved document and attached it to an email. As she typed out her email, she thought of the spur of chaotic and odd findings and happenings that’s been occurring around the world. What used to be just minor tales, rumors, or happenings that can easily be covered as internet scams and fads, have begun catching more attention in news and television. Humans with slightly odd powers spurring in minor cases, some young, some old. It had occurred too often, even for the internet to not be able to debunk, even for Yuina to not be able to ignore. Enough for this agency to suddenly pop up out of no where last year.

Clicking send, Yuina also gathered her own belongings and readjusted the clip on her belt, hiding it but kept close to her. She focused back on her desk, on Noiko’s voice, on her daily routine. It was useless overthinking. She quietly took deep breaths as she listened to her intern, trying her best to shake off the dread felt in the pit of her stomach.

All she needed to do was work her way up this agency. Perhaps she can find out exactly who made the agency's symbol, and who was behind this agency itself. Edward Newgate was dead. She may have not have been part of his immensely large crew, but knew him well and personal enough. And his death was broadcasted - a death too tragic for even Yuina to slip from her mind after all this time. Perhaps if she met the proper head of authority, she can find an answer as to why the person knew Newgate’s symbol, and why they were using it. She wondered if it was a Descendent, or someone who had a rare Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, like hers. Her heart almost stilled at that thought.

Either way, she needed to find out. It was why she applied for this agency anyway. That, and she had to move out of her previous town anyway, before anyone became suspicious.

She followed Noiko as she led the way out the office and in front of the large elevator.

“I wonder why everything here is so,” Noiko paused for a moment before she found the right word. “Tall.”

“You never met a giant before?”

Noiko stared at Yuina wide eyed. “Is there a giant working under this agency?”

Yuina laughed. “No, not in this building I’m sure. But there are such thing as tall folks.”

Noiko continues her usual, cheery banter. And Yuina follows as routine. She laughs when needed, she responds when needed.

“Anyway,” Noiko starts again. “Just go out on that date. C’mon, live a little! You’re not getting any younger you know.”

Something settled in Yuina’s chest. Something still and silent. But she smiles back at Noiko, gentle, quiet as Noiko observes Yuina, admired her face and figure.

“But at the same time, you’re not getting any older. Even I thought you were a lot younger than you are.”

Yuina laughs and entertains Noiko’s flattery. “I swear I don’t know why so many folks say that. I think I look like my age.”

“You need to share your skincare routine, that’s what!”

As Yuina laughs, in the back of her mind, she came to the realization that it was no longer possible to feel the feeling of deja vu. Huh.

For now, everything is the same. At least for this lifetime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't know where this is going but please enjoy the ride with me! 
> 
> comments are much appreciated :)


	2. Chapter 2

“Age 20, disappeared two weeks ago.”

Furious scribbling is heard on hard paper as Yuina continues. Her mouth twitches into a small smile. She found it adorable how Noiko, as young and as tech-savvy as she is, had such an old-school way of notetaking. It was nice to see it.

“She was last seen by a couple of witnesses around rush hour during the evening, from the period of 4:30PM – 6:00PM.”

“I thought a couple driving home said around 5:00PM,” Noiko points out, but her scribbling does not stop, despite her eyes were ahead, staring at the scans displayed on the translucent screen that had appeared before her at her request with the car’s AI. Bright teal of digital text, scans, and photos were in the air in front of Noiko as she sat beside Yuina on the passenger seat.

“They were coming home from a dinner party and drinks,” Yuina responded, she peeks at her rearview mirror. “Below limit of intoxication, but I still would not completely rely on their time, just to be safe.”

“Ah,” Noiko confirmed. Another set of furious scribbles. “I’ll send in a request for surveillance during that time period then.”

“Thanks,” Yuina’s eyes stayed glued ahead as she continued to drive. Luckily, the sun did not set yet, and it was not yet rush hour. They were called in to check on an incident that happened in the city center. Police had reported it a gas explosion, but from what the agency had informed her office, it may have been more to it.

Yuina’s breath hitched a bit at that thought before she took a deep breath to relieve herself from the irritation. Noiko picks this up and stops writing.

“Stop. It won’t be as bad. I heard the cops are already gone.”

“I hope so.” Yuina’s patience with the police was close to none, and Noiko was aware of that.

Out of all the various jobs and careers Yuina has had throughout time, this agency was the closest to government involvement she ever had. She felt like she was breathing in the same room with them, and it was too close for her liking. For centuries she had avoided anything and everything that may put attention on her. Being heavily involved in any government institution is like putting a target on her own back. She never trusted them, and time and time again she was confirmed why. It does not take a Pirate’s blood and spirit to know that.

The agency was already peculiar enough. It was very surprising how fast Yuina was accepted to work under the agency. Her current resume did not include her past medical experiences throughout the ages, or her fighting and combat skills, which was often listed as ‘Security Experience’. She had initially applied to be any sort of assistant or secretary. She found it was often the safest position for her. It was always an easy and flexible start. If she wanted to lay low, a secretary was near invisible, and also easily replaceable. If she was bored and wanted to pass time, she can advance up the corporate ladder. If she was bored again after a few months, she would easily abandon and travel once more, until it was safe enough to believe not a single person would find her face ‘familiar’.

So it was to her surprise that, within a few months, she was put to train in detective and field work. It was unexpected, and a break from her dull and numbing passage of time, just like when the world was slowly shedding light back on what they now called Descendants. As much as the government tried to keep things quiet to prevent chaos, possible tensions or even war, it’s been difficult with how deadly fast technology and the internet is. But since the agency’s existence that randomly appeared last year, political and cultural tension has been eased quite a lot, to Yuina’s relief. The agency’s purpose was to be involved in these specific cases and rare happenings where, occasionally, an accident occurs with odd and peculiar circumstances. A person with odd capabilities, different levels of odd abilities now called Effects. It was their job was to find such persons called Descendants and keep things under wraps to prevent public panic, and if possible, get there before the government does. She was relieved the agency was privately owned, but it did not help that a lot of times she still had to cooperate with the police. She was grateful that the agency had agreed she was far ahead enough to need an intern to assist her. Noiko was a charmer, and had a lot more patience than she did. Yuina ran out of patience ages ago, but it was never there for government officials for as long as she can remember. 

“On Wednesday, at 6:45 PM in West Gate South region, a civilian calls in and reports a gas explosion,” Noiko reads out loud. “Help was dispatched, and around 7:00PM, fire from fifth floor was distinguished. No one was reported injured, no bodies were found in the unit. Alleged gas explosion, as the gas stove was reported to be left on. Who still uses a gas stove?”

“Noiko, not everyone has rich parents who are into and can afford the latest technology for energy conservation. You said South district, right? Not really the high-class suburbia you’re imagining.”

“I guess,” Noiko mutters as she twirls a strand of her soft, red hair. Her brown eyes continue to scan through the documents.

“You guess,” Yuina mocks and scoffs, before she turned right into a larger highway. Ten more minutes before she arrived at the designated city. She switched on the car’s auto drive and leaned back, eyes still on the road. The window shield shudders into life with blue and teal lights, the transparent, hexagonal tiled film on the window showing the car’s AI being brought to life, its monotone voice surrounds both women in the car as it announces its own gps data. “So, what was the damage?”

“Well, besides the gas stove that seemed to be left on,” Noiko swipes to the next page. She was silent, as Yuina watched Noiko wave a finger back and forth before her, touching the AI and comparing live photos that they just received. Yuina’s eyes went back to the road as the car announced a sudden delay in traffic. Estimated time of arrival turned from ten minutes to fifteen. “No…nothing yet.”

Noiko reaches up and looks at another photo. It seemed to be a screencap from a surveillance video. Swiping it towards the direction of Yuina, the photo appears in front of her, right in front of her driver’s wheel. It was the photo taken of a nearby camera at the end of the fifth-floor hallway, right in front of the elevator. The same girl that was seen in the highway. Her hair was cut shorter, her clothes were a bit more ragged. Her own cap could not even hide the hollows of her cheeks. She had lost weight. From what Yuina can make out, the shot was taken right when she had reached the staircase next to the elevator, her eyes glancing at something to the side. Yuina looked at the timestamp. 6:43PM. Wednesday.

“Did higher ups confirm we were dealing with a Descendent or not?”

Noiko pinches a picture before her, leaning in closer as she replied. “No. Nothing yet…If it really is a Descendent, shouldn’t we prepare?”

Yuina is silent. “Not really. Descendants’ powers are what it is - descendants of Devil Fruit powers. As it gets passed down from generation to generation, the power itself weakens. I’m sure it’s not something a stun gun or paralyzer can’t handle if things get bad. We never get a Category One.”

“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Noiko said in excitement and wonder. “Devil Fruits – like Category One Devil Fruit Users really existed back in the day? Just a couple years ago, everyone thought it was just another mythical tale or legend. I heard back then it wasn’t passed on genetically. You just eat the fruit when it reappears after the holder dies. Isn’t that some shit? Amazing. Scary, but amazing.”

Yuina thought of how odd it was that Devil Fruit powers ended up passed via genetics the moment Devil Fruits stopped appearing. Her voice sounded so distant to herself as she spoke.

“Yeah,” Yuina’s eyes stay locked on the road. Slowly, she leaned her elbow against the car door, her face leaning against her hand. “So imagine how much more powerful it used to be back then, huh?”

#

Two weeks later, in the center of this metropolitan city, in the same building floors above the one Yuina’s office was in, the sunset was casting a bright orange glow through the large windows, washing over a large, old oak desk. The tall man who sat at this grand desk stares at his large computer screen, his tired face expressed his impressed and fascinated fixation on what was being displayed. His cup of tea was abandoned at the side of his desk, an arm propped up and his hand on his mouth. Click after click, he slowly scanned through the reports, again and again. His intense focus was not lost, no matter how many times he went through them.

Despite his one office taking up the entire top floor of the building, it may come off peculiar to some, how the head office of this agency seemed lackluster to say the least, compared to the countless new and modern technology multiple floors below him held. Technology and internet that has shown him throughout history just how much it has changed and improved, in an overwhelming and scary acceleration. Society was undergoing a New Neo-Era, its technology now slowly evolving from digital to completely AI-surrounded, and he was bearing witness to it. This shift was about to create their own form of natural selection, as those that were unfit to adjust to this new environment was about to be wiped off of existence, slowly and steadily. He can tell the already vast gap of the wealthy and starving was about to be even greater, and whatever consequences from AI technology was about to hit the poor and defenseless first.

It was because of this abnormal acceleration that kept his office old-fashioned. There was a sense of dread that filled him at the thought of succumbing to AI environments. It was unexplainable, but he tried to push it towards the reason of his old soul. It was hard to keep up with technology now. And he needed the space anyway. Stacks of files and paper, stacks of books and logged archives flourished around him. History, elegance, and time ran very differently the moment one enters his floor. Honestly, it the same in his other medical office. It was the same with his own home. Technology was the last thing he needed. He did not need things sped up, did not need shortcuts. He had all the time. Rushing would just drive him mad. The man continued to click away with his new mouse. After countless nagging from his secretary, he finally caved in and replaced his mouse and keyboards with wireless ones. He hated that she was right. It was very convenient. He continued to scroll, glazing through the reports carefully like the multiple times prior. The orange cast from the dwindling sun was turning red now.

_“Descendent of the Plasma Fruit. Category 2. Descendant’s Effect can generate enough to apply to others, both inanimate and animate. Most influence of Effect towards animate objects are just minor zaps and shocks of persons and living beings. Counseling and watch directed to Third Office.”_

_“Descendent of Smelt Fruit. Category 3. Powers only affects their own body. Mild influence on inanimate objects. Hospitalized in First Office clinic. Investigation on hold until recovery.”_

_“Descendent. Category 4. Psychic ability, paranormal. Possible Haki-like features. Counseling directed to Fourth Office.”_

The man double clicked and pulled up another document. A corrected report from Descendent of an artificial Zoan Fruit, Category 3 changed to just Category 4. A note mentioning, “This is not a Devil Fruit. An artificial fruit. Vaccine should be available. Government personnel is not needed. Please consider re-evaluating. Medication should not be given if the correct first-time treatment is issued if transferred to First Office. Thank you.”

The man’s eyes locked onto that note. How did this person know of artificial Fruits? He stared at the last words of thanks, puzzled and surprised that someone from the Sixth Office was writing up such reports. He understood why the office was making such a fuss and demanded her a reevaluation. She was relatively new here. A year done in. Some of these terms and names her own team probably does not even know of. To them, she was probably out of her mind. Sixth Office did nothing but clean up and tidy cases. Field work consisted of last-minute check ins, closing follow ups. Nothing grand or big. It was the last office, after all.

He stared down at the specific report he had purposely kept. He had requested all her work to be compiled for him and reviewed. Sixth Office was having a riot after their recent incident and requested his office to review the woman’s behavior. She further aggravated the Office’s Overseer, as he himself had to hear an earful from the Sixth Overseer when the new woman refused to let go of the girl she had found and rescued. She had recently taken in another missing persons under her wing without authority and refused to transfer her. He stared down at the paper. Another report submitted by the woman, just a few days ago.

_"Descendent of Flame Fruit. Category 1. First Office Access Only."_

He stared at her report. He realized he have not felt this kind of surprise in a very, _very_ long time. Silence felt different now. His heart beat heavier as he stared at the word, Flame fruit. Distant and dull memories of a brother of his seep into the back of his head, but his mind seemed a bit numb from the sentiment, due to the shock that was stimulating it. He now lost count of how many times he had reread her reports over and over again today.

_“Briefing:  
_ _Category One. Flame fruit user. Fully able. Please be aware, Logia powers fully capable. Not a threat if under my counsel. Please advise: any other team handling and counseling her will have to use sea stone, despite my disapproval. Will cause Descendant to be aggravated and unwilling to cooperate. Medical exam must be under my supervision, as requested by Descendant. See signed document attached._

 _Info:  
_ _Descendant’s Name: Sao. Last Name not provided.”_

The man looked at the photo printed and attached. A picture of a roughed-up girl with short blonde, wavy, and shaggy hair glared straight at the camera, the corners of her mouth down in a frown. She had freckles and hazel eyes. Her glare and focus on the camera were intense, as if ready for whatever the world was about to throw at her. The man breathed out a quiet whisper of a laugh in amusement. Ace used to have freckles. He continued reading.

_“Was the missing persons initially presumed dead when case turned cold. Found as cause of the alleged gas explosion. Sao was seeking refuge, as she was previous trafficked by MS organization and recently escaped. Her location was found, and the incident was an act of defense. Sea salt cuffs cuffed around her ankle were broken at the incident. After incident, was found in a neighboring city a week later in an abandoned warehouse, near faint from lack of food, sleep and nutrients. Further investigation still pending._

_Further details of the report must be requested in person.“_

Marco stared at the additional photo provided. A flash photo of the young girl’s ankle, gruesomely bloodied and bruised in different hues of purple and blue. What seemed like remnants of a thin sea stone cuff broken into pieces was placed beside it. He can tell it was badly photographed by someone with no experience, but the photo was clear enough to see the injury properly. This photo was not taken in his clinic. The girl needed to be admitted soon for proper care.

This was the only report not sent to the agency’s general database, but instead to him and his First Office. Both digitally sent and physically mailed. The woman was thorough. He wondered if, like him, she also did not trust technology as much as she would like to. He stared at the name signing off the report.

_I. D. Yuina_   
_\- Sixth Office Agent, 12 th Position._

His phone on his desk rang and absent mindedly, he reached over to answer it on speaker.

“Mr. Newgate, your request for those records have been expedited. Would you like them sent right away?”

“Oh,” the man spoke out softly. He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. “Yes. Thank you.”

As the man looked back up at the screen, the screen reflected off his glasses. He was staring at records he requested to be pulled up. The background check of the woman who made the report. It was the records found when she had first applied. She had striking silver hair, almost glowing due to its luster reflecting the flash of the camera. Her eyes that seemed light brown at first, but a mix of red in them if he stared longer. Her expression was firm, but calm. The information provided of her background barely filled half a page. There was almost nothing on her, not even a record of education. His eyes glossed over the useless information until his eyes looked at her full name.

His heart stilled in such a slow and stealth-like way that he did not even notice he was holding his breath. He stared at her middle initial, but his mind – a mind that often knew what to do, knew what to plan, was numb and in a stand still. He has not seen that initial in ages. The realization dawns on him like a slowly melting ice, its chilled liquid slowly trailing down his spine, sending goosebumps all over his arms and back. He sat as still as a statue, the rise and fall of his chest the only indication that he was still present. His arm slowly extended out, reaching over to his company phone. Lifting up the phone and pressing a button, he dialed for his secretary.

“I’m transferring someone,” the man spoke. “But schedule me a meeting with them first.”

“Office?”

“Sixth.”

“Name?”

The man held his breath before he softly spoke out. He heard the unsureness in his voice, but it was that prolonged pause prior that ratted out his confusion, excitement, and anxiety all in one brief second.

“Iris D. Yuina.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think.  
> :D


	3. Chapter 3

Yuina watched in silence as Noiko shoved all her belongings into the box. The young woman was very lively today, but in a way different from how the office normally expected. Their bright and cheerful Noiko was now aggressively packing her stuff, as well as muttering some spiteful things under her breath. It was clear as day for the entire office to hear, but for the both of them, it did not really matter at this point. Yuina brought her attention back to her own desk, slowly and steadily packing her own things as well.

“The entire office bitches and complains about how we are the most boring office,” The redhead mutters again as she shoves one of her many mugs into her box. Yuina almost winced at the sound of the mug clashing into something, dangerously close to breaking. “Then we get a Category One and suddenly their apparent years of drills can’t even get through their damn heads. Fucking hell-”

Noiko tosses some of her files messily into her box, her train of thought too fast to keep up with her verbal one. She was fed up. Both hands on her hips, she huffed. Whipping her attention back to Yuina, her brows furrowed even more.

“And why are _you_ not upset? We handled our first Category One case and you got reported for reevaluation.”

Yuina wanted to hide her smile, but she couldn’t. In all honesty, she did not care.

“Noiko, I unfortunately have the privilege to say that I have absolutely nothing to lose.”

Noiko cusses under her breath again as she looked over her now empty desk. “Well, it would be nice for you to miss me at least. Am I not your one and only intern?”

“Christ, Noiko,” Yuina could not help but laugh. “We’re both transferring to the same place!”

Yuina placed the last of her belongings into her one box. There wasn’t much she had. She straightened up and looked at Noiko, a smile forming on her lips.

“Besides, you’re no longer intern. You’re agent now.”

Noiko’s face was now flustered, a nice rosy blush spread across her face. She huffed once more, and her newly issues badge flashed even under these dingy office lights. Her old laminated pass she used to wear was now carefully stashed in a sleeve pocket of her bag.

“Anyway,” Noiko emphasized, and stacked her two boxes on top of each other. “Did they tell us yet? Exactly where we are going?”

“No,” Yuina responded as she watched Noiko’s attention focus on something in her box. She reached over to grab it. It was another mug. One that one of the co workers here had given her. She tossed it in the bin before bringing her attention back to Yuina. “But I have a meeting. Someone on Tier One.”

“Well,” Noiko sighed. “I’ll be on call. I got Sao. And I got you covered here.”

Yuina stared at Noiko. There was a subtle flash of seriousness in her eyes. It was dark, but not cold. It was her emphasis of meaning behind those words, the intention of demanding Yuina to know and recognize something Yuina have not addressed yet since the incident. Yuina gave her a small smile.

“I know. I know you do.”

#

Yuina has never ridden any of the elevators that go any higher than her Sixth Office floor. The building itself was relatively new, now being one of the highest and largest buildings in this city. It was gigantic, to the point where there were specific elevators separated for designated floors to prevent traffic. Yuina never had any access to anything but the Lower Tier levels, which was one third of the lower levels of the building. This included partial access to Fifth Office as well, since Sixth often worked and communicated with them.

But as Yuina stood in front of a different elevator, she felt almost surreal that her badge granted access for her to operate the Tier One elevator. When she stepped in, she almost felt she stepped into the wrong one. Unlike the other two kinds of modern elevators, she stared at the buttons that had allowed her the choice to choose which floor she wanted to go. For a building where its elevators were completely stripped of any buttons or choices for its passengers, it was odd that the Tier One elevator, the single elevator of its kind, had just…buttons. The elevators here function precisely on a worker’s identification, badge, and schedule alone. The elevator knew where you should be because any destination requested of you also went through Communications. The building’s elevator system was heavily integrated in Intercommunications within the building. So, for Yuina, who have long been used to the new times and its technology, was slightly thrown off at the existence of…floor buttons. She found herself immediately reminiscing in an odd emotion when she recalled how long it has been since she used an old-fashioned elevator. Yuina took a moment to recollect herself as she stared at the buttons, the elevator closed and locking her in a still, confined space. The silence brought her back to reality.

“Right,” she breathed out. She looked for the highest floor and pressed the number. She almost couldn’t help but laugh at this odd feeling. A sad, nostalgic wave washed over her.

The ride up was excruciating. Time felt prolonged, stretched, and amplified by the stillness of the enclosed air, the silence that enveloped her. She took another deep breath. Yuina did not like realizing she was feeling slight impatience within her. After all, she did say she did not care. Her mouth twitched in annoyance as the elevator continued its smooth and quiet way up, truly unbothered and free of the notions of time, yet containing everything of it within itself. Yuina heard herself sigh.

When Yuina arrived at the designated floor, she did not have enough time to bask in her sense of relief or prepare herself the moment she stepped out the elevator. There was just one thing on her mind the moment she laid eyes on this apparent _top_ floor of First Office, which occupied almost majority of the Top Tier levels.

…This is it?

The front lobby was very small and cozy, almost close to Yuina’s own sectioned office for both her and Noiko. Shelves lined the walls, the grand desk seemed to almost guard the secretary. The secretary seemed in her late twenties, perhaps early thirties, but Yuina have grown to doubt her own age-guessing. She has long lost that ability. Everyone all looked the same to her – just aging.

The secretary’s brown hair was in a messy bundle, and furrowed brows that expressed her being constantly occupied with something seemed permanent on her forehead, as well as her frown. But Yuina still felt very warm and welcomed despite her cold demeanor. The brunette was handling a stack of papers before she looked past her own glasses at Yuina.

“You that Category One gal?”

Yuina smiled. “Yes I am. I’m a bit early.”

“Well, no one’s complaining, doll,” the woman peered down at something on her desk, hidden from Yuina’s view. A couple of soft buttons were heard before an office phone was brought up to her face. Yuina peeked on her name tag. Nico.

“She’s here,” the woman spoke into the phone. “I’m sending her in.”

The brunette named Nico held Yuina’s eye contact before nodding her to the direction of the grand doors as she hung up her phone.

“Thank you, Ms. Nico.”

“No problem hun.”

Almost immediately, the woman was back to her papers and filings, cursing at the old system she seemed to get so sick of. Yuina took a deep breath, doing her best to hide her amused smile. To Yuina’s surprise, the gigantic wooden doors opened with ease. But once more, to her surprise, the amount of natural light that embraced her compared to the dull and dim front area almost took her breath away.

The entire floor was open and free of sectioned areas or cubicles. It was spacious and abnormally empty, its tall windows all bright and free of any sort of shades. If there were not windows, there were bookshelves. The afternoon sun poured in onto the wooden floors installed, the grand shelves filled with books that looked close to centuries old. Smell of old paper and oak engulfed her and stimulated her senses. She felt like half of the floor was like some old library, a lounge area tempting her to just stay in and read her entire life away. Ahead of her, directly across and on the other side of this floor, sat the largest wooden desk she has ever seen, the windows in the background almost illuminating the entire area in a warm burning light. Stacks and piles of paper and books littered but never strayed too far from the vicinity of the large desk. Something within her washed her wave of anxiety away as she took the time to look around.

When she finally laid eyes on the man at the desk, something stirred within her. It came in slowly and steadily, as if something far, far and long ago was trying to reach her – past her measure of time, past her memories, past the overall numbed mind from living for so long, memory after memory remarking, rebranding her present mind, over and over again. It was slowly crawling its way towards her, and she was not ready for what was to hit her the moment it reached her.

She stared at the big man before her, sitting and hovering at the desk that now seemed customized for him. The large and wide screen desktop at the side failed to hide him and his frame from her view. His jacket seemed draped on the back of his chair, despite how she had seen a coat rack at one corner when she had stepped in, left to collect dust. His dress shirt was laxed, its first few buttons freed as it was apparent that it was not there to impress anyone. Everything in this expansive office screamed just that; that there was often no one but one person here, that there was no one to impress or be proper for, because the entire floor was personalized for him and him only.

But most of all, it was the tuft of blonde hair that had triggered this long, strange string in Yuina’s mind that she did not notice was there in the first place. The string laid loose and untouched for ages, but at this moment as she stared at his hair style, his facial features, and his big body, she felt the string being tugged. Despite the string being endless, disappearing into darkness, the string was being tugged from the other end of her, and something was coming her way, trying to revive itself and reach her. A sense of familiarity was being echoed and now spreading in the back of her mind. It felt strange.

Yuina’s eyes widened as she caught his tattoo peaking out, just in time before it was covered as the man was making his disheveled self more presentable for her as he stood up.

“You’re early,” the man called out to her as he stood up, his tattoo now covered the moment he stood up straight. “Sorry for the mess. I don’t usually get a lot of folks up here.”

Yuina took her time to look around, trying to buy herself time as she was trying to process what was being triggered in her mind. “This…is not a mess at all. The place is beautiful.”

The man stood in silence as Yuina took her time to look around. She did not care if she was coming off disrespectful. Once again, she had nothing to lose. After she was done staring at one large seating and lounge area in front of a large section of bookshelves, she turned to look at the two lounge chairs before the desk. She looked back up at the man who was now slowly making his way towards her.

Once again, her mind was being tugged again. Something deep within is getting closer to her as he slowly approached. His arm extended, a hand of his offered to her. Automatically, Yuina reached out to shake it. Her shake was firm and strong, and it was only after she had applied her own pressure did the man reflect the same amount.

“Marco,” the man introduced himself. “You must be Yuina.”

“Yes sir,” Yuina spoke softly as the both let go.

Marco retreated towards his desk, gesturing her to take a seat before him. She did as told without tearing her eyes off him. Marco.

Marco.

Then it hit her. As she stared at the man before her with the sun casting down on the both of them, she watched with intensity as she looked at the man in his glasses. Behind his light-reflected glasses as he looked over something on his computer in silence, she watched those tired but focused eyes, she watched the stillness of his face that seemed to not have aged one bit. The only difference was the specific type of exhaustion Yuina can recognize. The youth in him, despite how physically young he still looked, was gone. Just like her. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched. She remembered watching him fight during the Summit War. She can still remember how she had held her breath, almost choked on her own tears as she watched in the midst of the horror of the war, beautiful blue flames that had been a temporary few seconds of hope for her and many others hidden around the world. His mischievous way of fighting – playful and taunting, yet so threateningly direct. Everything of that era, the youth, the risks, the danger – gone and deserted from his face. Just like hers. Empty and void of genuine expression. Numb.

Marco the Phoenix, before her very eyes. Newgate’s son. The string in her mind was being tugged so fiercely that this was the sharpest and the most alert she had felt in the first time in a while. The sun seemed brighter. The wood in this office gave off such a luxurious brown. The papers seemed to glow and absorb more light than she had noticed. Marco’s warm skin seemed richer, his blue eyes near glowing and ocean-depth like that even his glasses could not filter over. She watched those orbs look away from the screen and back at her. Everything around her seemed the most vivid she had ever felt since the day she first travelled in sea, the salt licking her skin, the waves crashing and waving into the horizon in hues of many colors.

“So,” Marco’s voice called out. The level of calmness within it resonated with her in a level that once again, knocked the breath out her chest, arising another intense wave of nostalgia. Time seemed completely out the window. Something that Yuina had felt so numb to now, was echoing around her, stimulating her, winding up her mind with the same string that she had long ignored in the dark depths of her subconscious.

Marco The Pheonix – son of Whitebeard, First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, leaned back in his chair. His shirt revealed a tease of his tattoo again, and Yuina remembered the symbol even more clearly. Marco was staring at her with eyes that do not recognize her but observed her. His voice in his next words challenged her and left Yuina, for one last time, unexpectedly breathless. Hair raised on its end with the call of her name.

“Iris D. Yuina.”


	4. Chapter 4

Not a single muscle moved. Not a shade of change in her eyes. Marco wondered if she heard him. He stared at her, her figure as still as a statue in the chair, her mind seemingly very occupied by…oddly, him. Yuina seemed to be observing him, taking him in. His eyes refused to look away from hers, as the warm and glowing sunlight has turned to its setting orange. Revealing to him the amber in her eyes were not from a camera glare. Her brown eyes were so rich, there were moments where it shined even a dark ruby and disappeared the moment he blinked. He refused to look away, for this was truly such an odd feeling. He cannot recall when was the last time he felt so visible like he does right in this moment. So he waited, the both of them staring at each other.

He waited, allowing the silence to run its course, as discomfort wasn’t felt between the two of them. To Marco, the prolonged silence was helping them, buying both of them time as it seems the woman before him was also assessing something in her head, as analytically and as thoroughly as he was doing in his.

Perhaps the middle initial between her name meant nothing. Perhaps it was just his annoying nostalgia he can never shake off for as long as these memories were held deep within his head. Maybe, by now, the initial ‘D’ has lost its meaning, dwindled and withered just like the world he had his first and best lifetime in. Something heavy in his chest was sinking, like when he drinks hot tea too early and he feels the liquid searing down him. After all, Iris D. Yuina was never a name he had heard of. Perhaps, in the end, Iris D. Yuina was not Portgas D. Ace, Money D. Luffy, Gol D. Roger - or even Trafalgar D. Law. He couldn’t even believe it himself – he was scared to admit that, maybe he was feeling disappointed. Maybe he needs to let this go. He felt silly.

“Yes.”

Marco’s thoughts were halted by Yuina’s voice. His eyes refocused and stayed on her. She spoke again. She was so still that even as she blinked, her lashes fluttered slowly and delicately.

“That’s correct, sir. Marco Newgate, isn’t it?”

Still, not a single tick, not a single shift or twitch. She sat there, her breathing in the same pace, her eyes still watching him – almost admiring him, if he was not mistaken. It felt odd. It did not feel like an advance or an approach in any inappropriate way. There was no flirtatious tone. Her voice was the same. Firm despite its softness.

“Yes,” he mirrored back. “That’s correct.”

“A very fine last name.”

Marco stared at her. The small tone of pride in Yuina’s voice did not escape him, for he out of anyone would know of pride when it came to his name. But it was quickly disregarded by her as she continued, ruthlessly forbidding Marco to think or process any further.

“You had called to meet me pertaining something about Sao? Did you have any questions or concerns?”

Marco watched her straighten up in her seat, and the freed strand of silver hair that escaped her high pony tail waved softly before settling back into its stillness, kissing the side of her face. The topic of names was now completely shut down by her.

“I do,” Marco looked away to grab her report, but quickly looked back up at her. “How is she? How is her ankle?”

There it was. For once, Marco watches a shift in her eyes. It widened just a bit, as well as her pupils, which dilated despite a ray of sun reaching them. There was a pause a second too long. So she was human, Marco mentally amused. Her voice came out softer.

“Bratty, but just like any normal young adult would. But her ankle is not as swollen. Would need to be taken care of though, regardless.”

“I agree,” Marco commented. He continued to observe her. She refused to look away. “I would like to treat her as early as possible to prevent infection.”

“I’ve already disinfected it and stitched her up,” Yuina spoke in response. When Marco did not respond, she continued. “But I would like to give her some mild antibiotics, just in case.”

Again, Marco could not read her body language. With a quiet sigh, he glanced at his screen before looking back at her. “Why didn’t you add your medical experience to your resume? You seem well-versed in it, as I’ve heard from your Overseer.”

“I applied for a secretary position and got trained to be an agent,” the woman commented politely. “I can ask the same about the job description myself.”

Before he can help himself, the corners of his mouth twitched into a small smile. “And why didn’t you quit?”

There it was again – just a second late, a second off- beat before she replied. “My interests.”

“Your interests?”

“Yes.”

“Your interest in this agency,” Marco slowly drawled out, as if worried that if he was too direct, she would shut it down again. “Or something more personal?”

Marco watched the stoic woman slowly tilt her head a bit slightly in thought, her eyes casting downward. He found it peculiar and adorable, because for a woman whose expression right now came off expressionless and unbothered, she was putting a lot of thought before her responses.

“I guess both,” Yuina starts softly. “My personal interest coincides with my interest in this agency.”

“Seems like a lot,” Marco commented in amusement. He watches a small smile peak at the corner of her lips.

“I guess so,” the woman said, almost lost in her own thought. Marco watched her look past him, towards the crest that he knew hung high and behind him. She looked back at him. Again, he felt she was staring deep into him now. It felt odd. “It just keeps growing.”

With that comment, Marco continued to stare at her in silence. He was thinking, marking, mapping, trying to find something in the back of his void of a mind, so vast from lifetimes stretching it out with countless memories. He was sure he never heard of a last name like hers. But was what this? This visibility of him in her eyes?

“Yuina,” Marco called out, this time more straightforward and direct. For the first time he felt the slightest impatience. Time was felt in so directions that he felt stirred in a way that he has not recognized in a while. “Why and how do you know so much about Devil Fruits?”

“I know my history,” Yuina responded almost robotically, like as if she recited it many times before. “Part of my interest.”

“You know the types of Devil Fruit.”

“Yes I do.”

“You even know there were artificial ones.”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“History,” Yuina stated again. “I guess my hobbies and interest deals a lot with history.”

There was something stirring in the pit of Marco’s stomach. Something felt off. She was hiding something. Alarms went off in his head. Whether it was a good thing or bad thing, he was not sure of yet. But he felt cautious because it seemed Yuina was also being as cautious and careful.

“I probably know as much as you do,” Yuina spoke again, and her voice softened once more. “Seeing how you’re acknowledging mine.”

Marco could only breath out a small laugh. “I guess my interest and hobbies also deals with history.”

An ironic smile broke out on Yuina’s face and it unsettled him. There was something in the back of his head that was being planted like a seed, and he worried. There was a small idea there – a small ‘what if’, that he had sworn to himself to never allow again. It was poison to him, as it painfully made him suffer for centuries. He had sworn to himself to never allow the poison of hope from that seed to grow, that from here on out, he was going to weed it out, no matter how small or tiny it was. The idea that, perhaps, this woman before him may be like him, living past centuries, was a dangerous idea that needed to be removed as soon as possible. Marco begged his mind to remap itself.

He had grown to accept that he was alone and a living ghost now. He was alone.

Weed it out, he thought to himself. Weed it out.

There are archives on the Era of Pirates, that he knew. If a citizen looked hard enough, especially during this age where the internet holds everything, the information can be found. Even if the government seemed to have wiped out a good percentage of accurate archives, it was there. The tales, the stories - they thrive on their own in the virtual world. Marco has seen it, in all its twisted glory and inaccuracies, the essence of that era lived on virtually, somewhere different from his own paper archives at home. Perhaps this was the one rare case that, this woman had sifted through the archives and managed to learn of the Era of Pirates as accurately as she possibly can. That would explain her knowledge, explain her recognition of the Newgate name, her eyes lingering over the crest. A fanatic, as Marco was forcing himself to believe.

To his disbelief, he felt irritation now, for he knew she was watching him think. He knew because her eyes, though was still glued onto his eyes, moved almost as if it was watching the thoughts swim behind his eyes. Like she was in an aquarium, just observing. He couldn’t believe that he was feeling irritation. It felt foreign to him because he knew he was feeling it out of defense. He hated to admit he felt very exposed.

“Yuina,” Marco called once more, his tone more serious than his last call of her name. “Brief me on Sao. Your report barely told me anything about her status.”

“Sao’s status,” she repeated after him. “She’s living with me. She’s resting at my home right now. She’s recuperating. Noiko is on standby for her when I am busy. Sao’s fully oriented. She knows where she is, what time and day it is, who she is. She is just not trusting.”

“Is that why you won’t transfer her or bring her in?”

“Because she isn’t trusting? No,” Yuina confirmed. She spoke firmly and curtly. Her eyes never left his. “I told Sao I don’t trust anyone to handle a Category One. So I do not want to leave her to anyone I do not know. I won’t transfer her because _I_ am not trusting.”

“You don’t trust your own Office.”

“No.”

“Yet you trust First Office?”

Yuina glanced at her report. “I never wrote that. I said First Office should have access. But I mailed it directly to you.”

“You did,” Marco spoke out as he was looking down at her report, deep in thought. “So you trust me?”

“Not yet.” Again, Yuina’s voice as she spoke was true. It was short, but every word she spoke she was stating her own truth like law. Marco knew she was not lying. She was not avoiding. She was up front and direct. Marco felt almost nostalgic from her attitude.

“Okay,” Marco took a deep breath and dropped the report. Elbows on his desk, he leaned forward. “Tell me why you don’t trust.”

“Every report I’ve read from your agency,” Yuina responded without missing a beat. “The four reports of any incident with a Category One Descendant have no follow up. No thorough report accessible for office records. Second to Sixth Office access is denied or wiped. Sixth Office once accidently marked a Category Two a Category One and the government came knocking when it was left unfixed and exposed.”

Yuina paused. Marco didn’t speak, so she continued.

“Only First Office has access. Every report dealt by First Office the government doesn’t touch. But, every Category One Descendant transferred to First Office, I never hear of them again,” Yuina’s jaw clenched. “I am not sending Sao to a place where she might not be able to reach me or Noiko if she needed to. We promised her.”

“You promised her?”

“To be there,” Yuina spoke. Marco watched a tinge of sadness wash over her eyes. “Promises don’t mean anything these days but promises continuously kept will grow to be. At least for Sao.”

“Sir, with all due respect,” Yuina called out in a clearer voice. She straightened up again, her chin held high as she stared straight at him. Marco couldn’t help but mentally compliment on her elegance. She glanced at the crest behind him before continuing. “Even if you were to dismiss me and Noiko, Sao stays with us.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No,” Again, Yuina does not miss a beat. “It’s information. I’m informing you the truth.”

Marco stared at her. Everytime she spoke, it was like she spoke the law. Everything was set in stone for her. The sun was finally retreating. The rays of sun were gone. They both sat across from each other, staring into each other’s eyes as the natural light from outside was dimming, warning them of the coming evening.

“Yuina,” Marco speak, leaning back in his chair. “You’re right to suspect the government. From the way you speak and think, I trust you know how Descendants are treated in this day and age. With fear and discrimination.”

Yuina doesn’t speak, but her face, as still as it already was, had turned stone cold. It was icy and hardened at that comment.

“With that being said,” Marco continued. “What protection can you provide for Sao, alone?”

Yuina seemed to be staring into the distance despite her eyes still on his. She was looking through him now, quiet, lost in thought. She blinked once, but that one second Marco caught was wavering, shaking. A flash of something very mournful was gone in a second, swept away from her own long lashes. Almost instinctually, before Marco can help himself, his brows furrowed together. He seemed focused on that one second. It haunted his mind so much that he almost didn’t hear her speak. He was uncomfortable yet captivated. For this split second he had found himself the most alert he had ever felt. Everything she said or did seared into his senses. Something so sad within her struck him and resonated in him that it made him scared. He feared this recognition he was feeling as he stared at her, in all her mysterious beauty and elegance as she sat before him. His eyes had casted down to her plump lips, reading the word she spoke, so firm yet rooted in defense, in wrath and in pain.

“Enough.”

Marco brought his eyes back up, and like a ghost, it was gone. He seemed snapped back into real time, his surroundings were no longer muted. The goosebumps that were raised on his skin dismissed and already forgotten. She was now back to her clam demeanor. Careless, free of care and expression. She spoke again, as if settled in another law of hers.

“I can provide enough.”

#

When Yuina quietly closed the door, she had done it gently and softly, like the whole area she was leaving needed to be done carefully, safely, and delicately. One hand on the handle, another resting flatly on the wood, she closed it tenderly, intimately. She walked away in silence, giving Ms. Nico a soft good evening for the night. The brunette secretary waved her goodbye.

Again, in silence, Yuina waited for the elevator to open after the screen at the side scanned her badge. The elevator opened immediately, showing it was there all along, waiting for her. The silence she had felt in the office lingered in and around her like a scent, and as she stepped in and watched the elevator doors close, she felt it twice as intensely. Her mind was lost. Her heart seemed to still into such a slow pace she couldn’t tell if it was beating. She pressed the button back to Sixth Office.

She couldn’t shake the look in his eyes. The moment of recognition - the sense of common ground before fear stripped that built rug from under them. She recalled the light then retreating into the depths of his mind, just as the sun settled and the light around them darkened. Yuina was learning the man she had just met was currently a ghost of Marco the Pheonix. As expected of course, but she guessed the reason she was feeling such a sink in her heart was just the current state of him. Of the both of them, to be honest.

It felt like, for the first time in centuries, she saw the clearest mirror she was ever going to find of herself. Throughout the whole meeting, that was the one idea that she could not shake off. Did her eyes look as empty as Marco’s? When defensive, did a look of fear show just like his? Was their grip on this life that weak? Weak that that it seemed the both of them didn’t want to acknowledge a possibility that before them was the only living remnant of their past, living proof that perhaps they were not as much of the ghosts they thought they were?

Marco definitely did not know her and did not recognize her. This she knew, because the moment she had eaten her Devil Fruit ages ago, it was around the time the Summit War started. After the death of both Ace and Newgate, she went into hiding and laid low as much as possible. The fear seeing Newgate die on screen struck fear in her. She didn’t want war. She wanted travel and freedom, without a bounty on her head. She knew the moment she discovered her powers that she had eaten something mythical and rare. And since then, Marco the Pheonix, as vividly beautiful in all his violence and flames during that war seared into her memory as she traveled. His bounty, his crew’s revengeful war, their downfall after. The losses – recorded and in public for everyone to see. She knew she did not want that same path. From then on, and time and time again, she was proven that privacy was going to be her biggest treasure.

But even if Marco did not recognize her, he _saw_ her. He _saw_ her. She knew in the way he repeated her name, the anxiety in him when he saw her own recognition of the crest, of history. Because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have stared the way he did, his brows wouldn’t have naturally furrowed the way it did. He wouldn’t have held his breath the way he did. He wouldn’t have needed to take a moment to reassess his own mind. He saw her, just as she saw him.

And yet, that was it.

“That’s it,” Yuina spoke out softly to no one.

They were both ghosts of their own selves, because to continuously live passionately life after life was too much. She understood. Because both of them took the steps to retreat back. They were not going to go down that road. They were both cowards. A living remnant of their first and best lifetime may have crossed each other’s paths, but that was as far as it went. It was not worth reopening old wounds that continue to bleed every now and then, or ache on a rainy day. She knew and understood.

It was just that, she never expected it to feel this way. She had imagined countless times – what if? What if there was another devil fruit user with an ability that allowed them to avoid death, like hers? What then? She had imagined, fantasized, allowed that hope to hurt her, drag her soul out for ages until the light in her gave out. Out of all the countless scenarios, she never thought she’d feel this.

A sense of sadness and exhaustion that can only be measured by time.

The doors opened, signifying Yuina that her smooth ride back down was finished.

And because of that, it was understandable that Marco denied himself of that possibility. Marco’s widened eyes, and the flash of a thousand thoughts going through his head replayed in her mind. The uneasiness, the fear. It was painful for her to even watch. No, it was more than understandable. For she herself was not sure if she would ever want to face the fact that there was another person alive, all this time. At this era, where Devil Fruit users were now watered down to Descendents society feared and treated as monsters. She could not shake off this sense of relief she felt, grateful that she did not pry further, did not reveal any more of her knowing exactly who he was. She felt so glad she did not bring anything up anymore. She wasn’t ready. She felt she walked away and past a Pandora’s Box.

When she had reached her office, Noiko, as well as the boxes they had packed was long gone. A paper note was stuck on Noiko’s desk.

"Yuina,

Boxes in car. Whenever you get an update.

Went to see Sao. Call.

Noiko."

She brought up her phone and dialed for Noiko. As the dial tone continued, the remaining conversation she had with Marco replayed in her head.

_Marco pushed his glasses up as he sat in silence. He was thinking again, Yuina noticed. But this time, it was strategic. He was concentrated as he was looking at something at the screen. She took it all in. He looked as beautiful as when she first met him, and when she saw him as The Pheonix on screen and on paper. He looked majestic, just like Edward. His presence was there, even if it was slightly retreated and softened. It was still there. Yuina wondered how he was like when he was with his family back then._

_“Well,” Marco spoke out quietly. “I’ll take your word as heavily as you take your promises.”_

_Yuina did not speak. Marco continued._

_“How much do you trust Noiko?”_

_Yuina paused before answering. “Enough to leave Sao to her.”_

_Marco stared at her, studied her. She let his eyes wander on her face, her demeanor. He looked back at his screen, typing something._

_“You’re transferring to First Office. I want you working directly with me. You, Noiko, Sao.”_

_Yuina, for the second time during this meeting, felt surprised. “Sao?”_

_“Yes.” Marco was still looking at something on the screen. “Whenever she feels ready, I guess. I want to meet her first as well. But she needs to get a checkup and eval, even if you need to tag along. Got that?”_

_Yuina watched as Marco glanced at her above his glasses, one of his eyebrows arched. Yuina’s eyebrow almost mirrored him in amusement. The slight and sudden drop in formality, and the now semi-demanding attitude from him took her by surprise. Acknowledging her attention, he continued._

_“Any and every single Category One or Two that you deal with from here on out, you come directly to me. No one else. Nico…maybe, if she had her morning coffee.”_

_Marco reached for a piece of paper and pen. The fountain pen was beautiful as it was graced with his long, slender fingers._

_“I also don’t trust you,” Marco continued as he scribbled along. “Not yet.”_

_“But it seems your interests and mine may coincide in more ways than we’d like. It’ll be useful for my own personal interests with my agency.”_

_He extended his arm to give the piece of paper to Yuina. Yuina accepted it and looked at it. It was his name and number, and an address of his clinic. When she looked back up at him, she almost held her breath. His office was darker now, the sun was quickly retreating. But his eyes almost glowed blue. And although the luminescent screen of his computer may have been the cause, the hue of blue from his eyes had took her breath away. His face was relaxed, at ease, and almost warm as he looked her. But still, his voice was gentle in its cautiousness. It was careful._

_“And that’s good enough for me.”_

The dial tone cut, and Noiko was finally heard on the phone. Her voice was lazy. “You figured out where we going yet?”

“Yeah,” Yuina replied quietly.

There was silence. Yuina was spacing out. Noiko’s impatience was felt before she even spoke. “Aaaand?”

“Overseers.”

Silence. Yuina can almost imagine Noiko holding her breath. She continued. “We’re both overseeing First Office.”

“Wait. What?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> :D


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